A Seattle Police officer, checking on a stolen car in south Seattle, shot and killed suspected Lakewood cop killer Maurice Clemmons, police announced this morning. The shooting ended a two-day manhunt here and in the Tacoma area after ex-con Clemmons fled the Sunday morning Pierce County crime scene where four Lakewood police officers were ambushed in a coffee shop.

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The unidentified lone arresting officer was not hurt in the Rainier Valley incident, although Clemmons was armed with a gun he took from one of the dead officers Sunday, police said, but was unable to get it out in time. Clemmons had been considered a danger to cops at least since May, when he punched an officer and told jail workers "I'll kill all you bitches," yet wound up free on the streets again, reports the News Tribune.

Monfort, 41, still in hospital.

Clemmons was the second accused cop killer nabbed by Seattle Police within a month. Officers shot and wounded Christopher Monfort, 41, Nov. 6, a week after the Halloween night slaying of SPD officer Tim Brenton in the Leschi area (where Clemmons was thought to be hiding yesterday). The gunfire and arrest, which left Monfort paralyzed from the chest down, occurred in Tukwila while mourners were just leaving a memorial service for Brenton in Seattle.

Police say Clemmons apparently was returning to his car while the SPD officer was checking it out; the hood was up and the motor running. The cop quickly recognized the wanted man, whose photo had been distributed department-wide. "The officer ordered the person to stop, ordered the person to show his hands," says SPD Assistant Chief Jim Pugel of the 2:45 a.m. shooting today on South Kenyon Street that left the already-wounded Clemmons dead.

"The person would not show his hands, and began to run away...the officer fired several rounds, took the person into custody...all indications are the person is deceased." Police have now confirmed the person is Clemmons, 37.

Three associates of Clemmons have been arrested and up to seven others could be arrested for helping the suspect make his way from the Lakewood/Parkland area to Seattle, according to Pierce County sheriff's spokesperson Ed Troyer. The associates provided shelter, transit, cell phones and other assistance to Clemmons, Troyer says. Now, "They're going to pay for it," he adds.